Combination vacuum cleaner and sweeper.



C. A. BOYER. COMBINATRION VACUUM CLEANER. AND SWEEPER.

APPUCATION FI'LEVD DEC- 30. 1915.

Patented Nov. 5, 1 918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

aib z 0.. A. BUYER. COMBINATION VACUUM CLEANER AND SWEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC, 30,1915- PatentedNov. 5, NHL

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

{Iii/765.565" fizz/6722b?" I a: W Z6 C. A. BOYER.

COMBINATION VACUUM CLEANER AND SWEEPE-R.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-30. 9L5.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A BUYER, 0F WARSAW, INDIANA, ASSIG-NOB TO HUGRO MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

COMBINATION VACUUM CLEANER AND SWEEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

Application filed December 30, 1915. Serial No. 69,317.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BOYER, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Warsaw, Kosciusko county, Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Combination Vacuum Cleaners and Sweepers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the so called combination cleaners and sweepers, but has more particular reference to the sweeping brush mechanism used in connection with such type of apparatus.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved structure of this character which will be simple, durable and reliable in constuction and effective and efiicient in operation. Another object of my invention is to provide an improved sweeperconstruction wherein the brush can be moved clear of its operating mechanism for the purposes of cleaning it.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved organization of mechanism having its operatin parts yielding or resilient and automatical y adaptable to the surface being cleaned and which will require no manual adjustment by the operator to regulate its effectiveness [in cleaning the surface over which the device is operated.

Other objects of my invention will appear hereinafter.

' inafter described, shown My invention consists in the features of novelty exemplified in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein the accompanylngdrawings, and more particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a view in side elevation of a vacuum cleaner having sweeping brush mechanism embodying my invention;

' Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view-of the structure shown in Fig. 1; V

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the brush mechanism portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1, the brush mechanism being shown in its normal operating condition;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except that the brush itself is shown raised u clear of the floor and into a position whic it occupies when not in use;

Fig; 5 is a view similar to Figs. 3 and 4 but with the brush swung or moved out-' wardly entirely clear of its operating mechamsmfor cleaning purposes;

' 'Fig. 6 is a plan vlew, certain portions being in section, of the brush operating mechanism at one side of the casing, looking down upon the structure shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 7' is a detail section of one of the latches for holding the brush in its position. It willbe obvious to one skilled in the art, after having obtained a understanding of my invention from the di sclosures herein made that various structural changes and modifications from that shown in the accompanying drawings may be used to embody the principles and functions of my invention without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, and I wish, this to be understood.

The particular vacuum cleaner structure, which I have shown in the drawings, I found to be best adapted for the purposes of my invention, but this structure is intended to be representative of any suitable vacuum cleaner for this purpose. This structure has a casing A which incloses its operating parts, these parts needing no particular description herein. The rear end of the casing is supported by traction wheels A connected by the crank shaft and connecting rods A with the pumps or operating ,bellows. The casing has a nozzle A disposed across its front end and this nozzle is adapted for contact with the surface to be cleaned, but as will hereinafter appeanthere area plurality of wheels on each side of the casing intermediate the ends thereof and these wheels have a yielding relation to said casing which acts to mamtain a proper relation betweensthe nozzle and the surface to be cleaned. On the under side of the casing I provide a rotary brush B whichoccupies substantially the width of bristles of the brush being the sides of the casing but the rod or shaft B which carries these bristles being extendedbeyond the sides of the casing and ca ing friction inions .or driving wheels" i t]. 115

which are v the casing, the disposed within ward and from the floor. At its outer ends this brush shaft is journaled in arms 3 which are pivoted at their ends l to supporting bars or bridge members 5. This construction allows the brush to have a bodily movement on an arc, the axis of which is the pivot points l of the arms 3. In normal operate" ing position the arms 3 are disposed in a sub stantially horizontal position and the move ment or the brushes will be in a substarr tially vertical direction toward and from the fioor. However, it will be seen by reference more particularly to Fig. 5 that the brush may be swung downwardly entirely clear of the mechanism so that it may be readiy cleaned when desired. The brush is yieldingly pressed against the floor by means of the springs 6. These springs are) in the form of U-shaped members, the bends, of which embrace the rivets which form. the pivots for the arms 3. The ends of the shorter legs of these springs are anchored in the bridge or side supporting members 5 by being passed through holes 7 in said bridge members and then bent to lock them in place. The ends 8 of the other or longer legs o1 these springs 6 are turned inwardly and rearwardly to form hooks which operate in curved slots or openings 9 in the bridge supports 5. These ends of the spring are; positioned in the path of the arms 3 and when said. arms are in their substantially horizontal position, as shown particularly in Figs. 3 and and in fact when the brush is in the-position shown in said drawings the springs actually engage the arms 3 and exert a downwardly acting pressure upon said arms which yieldingly maintain the brush in contact with the floor. W hen the brush is swung downwardly clear of the mechanism, as'shown in Fig. 5, the action of the springs on the arms 3 is removed because the slots limit the range of movement of said springs. lit is thus seen that the springs 6 are brought into action only when the brush is swung up into operative position into the lower portion of the casing, and when in this position the brush is yieldingly maintained against the floor with suflicient firmness to properly perform its sweeping operations, requiring no manual adjustment to regulate its action upon the floor. The bridge members 5, as shown in the drawings, are provided with open ended slots 10 to allow for the movement of a brush shaft, as above explained. Itis often desirable to raise the brush ofi or entirely out of contact with the floor so that the vacuum cleaner may operate independently of the brush. The slots 2 in the casing and 10 in the bridge members are suflicient to allow the brush to be raised in this manner, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4:, and in order that the brush may be held up in this position I provide the small finger operated latches 11, which, as shown clearly in the drawings, are pivoted at 12 on the eas es bridge members. These latches have their lower ends 13 turned inwardly so as to form hooks to engage the ends of the arms 3 which carry the brush. The arms 3, however, have notches 1a in their under edges and when the finger latches are rotated until their hooked ends 13 coincide with these notches the brush will operate in the manner previously described without being interfcred with by the finger latches. To look the brush in its raised position it is manually raised until the finger latches can be rotated into position to engage the edges of the arms 3 which edges at the points 15 of engagement are slightly curved or provided with shallow notches to preventdisplacement of the finger latches. By rotating the finger latches, as shown in Fig. until their hook portions 13 thereol entirely clear the ends of the arms 3, the brush may be swung downwardly entirely clear of its operating mechanism in the manner above described. Tn this structure the three positions at the finger latches may be definitely determined by providing a series of small depressions 16 in the bridge member, one of these depressions corresponding to each position of the finger latch and with which the hook portions 13 of the finger latches may engage. The finger latches are given the necessary frictional resistance to hold them properly in their several positions by means of the small springs 17 which are fastened on the inner sides of the bridge members to the rivets which form pivots for the finger latches. These springs are projected upwardly and their upper ends are positioned between two small ears l8 turned on the edges of the finger portion 19 of the finger latches. The bridge members 5, heretofore mentioned, are preferably in the form of straps of sufiicient strength and rigidity having their ends turned toward the casing and parallel thereto so that they may be securely fastened in any suitable manner, as by riveting to the sides of the casing. Within these straps on each side of the casing is the pair of traction wheels 20, the wheels of each pair being. disposed on'opposite sides of the pinion or roller on the end of the brush shaft. Each individual wheel is rotatably mounted on a small stud shaft 21 which is secured at the end of an arm 25 lying fiat against the inner face of the bridge member 5. And these arms are pivotally mounted by the rivets 26 in the bridge members 5 but the pivots are positioned in longitudinally disposed slots or openings 27 in the bridge members so that they may have some longitudinal movement. In consequence of this construction the wheels have a pivotal movement about the pivots 26 of the arms 25 as well as a bodily lateral movement due tothe slots 27 in the bridge members.

Thus the wheels, although supported by the casing, are freely movable through a considerable range, and furthermore each wheel is entirely independent of the other wheels. They are ieldingly but individually maintained in fi-ictional contact with the pinions or friction gears on the ends of the brush shaft by means of inverted V-shaped springs at each side'of the casing. The ends of the springs bear against the inner ends of the individual stud shafts 21. These springs are anchored at their bends by the clamping plates 31, which, as shown clearly in the drawings, are fastened on the sides of the casing by means of'thebolts or screws 32.-

such manner as to constantly but yieldingly therebetween.

ing therefrom. On these maintain the wheels in frictional engagement with the pinions of the brush shaft. and with the surface to be cleaned. The entire brush mechanism thus forms a flexible yielding organization of parts which readily adapts itself to the irregularities and peculiarities of the surface to be cleaned and all without the necessit of any manual adjustment whatever. The anchor or clamping plates 31 are preferably formed of sheet metal and have small studs 35 outstandstuds are loosel mounted the ends 36 of a bail 37 to whic the handle for operatin the sweeper is attached. The handle ail is preferably formed in such manner that it will be more or less resilient which maintains its ends on the pivot studs 35. In order to hold the handle upright in convenient position for the operator, the anchor plates 31 are extended upwardly above the studs 35 and have two small beads 38 struck up therefrom so as to leave a space or depression The handle bail may vbe swung about its pivots until it occupies a position between the beads 38 but in reaching this position it must ride over thebeads and in so doing the beads spread the bail against its own tension. This construction forms a spring lock for holding the handle bail and handle in an upright position. Disposed on each side of the brush and within the casing is a pair of dust-pans 40 into which the dust is thrown by the brush. These dust-pans may be of any suitable type for the purpose and need no particular description.

' between the w ieels of the pairs,

These springs thus individually What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

, 1. The combination of two pairs of traction wheels, a rotary brush positioned between said pairs of Wheels and arranged to be driven t ereby, a support for the brush arranged when in a certain position to carry the brush out of driven relation to said wheels, spring means yieldingly pressing said brush into engagement with the floor, and means to prevent displacement of said brush without interfering with the normal yielding operation thereof.

The combination of a casing, a pair of wheels on each side of said casing spaced apart, a rotar brush yieldingly positioned andaspring actuated support for yieldingly holding said brush in engagement with the floor and arranged to swing the brush clear of the casing for cleaning purposes.

3. The combination of a sweeper casing, a rotary brush positioned in said casing, pivoted members supporting said brush for movement toward andfrom the surface to be cleaned, spring means normally maintaining the brush yieldingly'in contact with said surface, a plurality of independent shafts disposed adjacent the ends of the brush and at the sides of the casing, a wheel on each of said shafts, pivotal members individually supporting each shaft, and spring means yieldingly maintaining said wheels individually in driving relation to said brush. 1

4. The combination of a sweeper casing, a rotary brush positioned in said casing, pivoted members supporting said brush for movement toward and from the surface to be cleaned, spring means normally maintaining the brush yieldingly in contact with said surface, driving wheels at each side of the brush'at the ends thereof, individual pivotal members supporting said wheels spring means yieldingly maintaining said wheels in driving relation to said brush, and means for holding said brush out of engagement with the surface to be cleaned.

5. The combinatlon of a supporting casing, a rotary brush positioned therein,

spring actuated mechanism normally maintaining the .brush in contact with the floor, a latch for'retaining the brush out of contact with the floor and against the action of said spring mechanism, traction wheels disposed at the sides of the casing, an independent pivoted arm supporting each shaft, said arms having their pivots shiftable, and spring mechanism acting individually on said wheels to yieldingly main tain them in contact with the floor and in driving relation to said brush.

6. The combination of a sweeper casing, a rotary sweeping brush mounted therein and yieldingly maintained in sweeping relation to the floor, a plurality of individually sup ported traction wheels in contact with the floor and in driving relation to the brush, and pivoted arms supporting said brush and adapted for swinging the brush outwardly and away from the driving wheels for the purposes ot' cleaning the brush, and spring mechanism acting on said arms to yieldingly press the brush against the floor.

7. The combination of a casing having rigidly connected wheel supports for its rear end, a rigid supporting member at its front end adapted for sliding contact with the floor to be cleaned, a pair of wheels disposed intermediate the front and rear ends or the casing and positioned at each side thereof, mechanism yieldingly connecting said intermediate wheels with the casing so that said intermediate wheels will hear a proportion of the weight of the forward end of the casing, and a rotary brush yieldingly connected with the casing and having its ends between and in driven relation to the intermediate wheels on the sides of the easing, and spring mechanism for maintaining said brush yieldingly in contact with the surface to be cleaned.

S. The combination of a casing, a pair of supporting wheels on each side of said casing, a rotary brush having .its ends arranged to be positioned between and driven by the pairs of wheels at the sides of the casing, individual arms for the wheels having slotted pivotal connection with the casing to permit moved vertically and laterally with respect to the casing and the rotary brush, spring mechanism acting on each individual wheel the wheels to be individually messes for yieldingly maintaining it into engagement with the floor, and in driving relation to the brush, an arm pivoted on each side of the casing and supporting the brush whereby the brush may be swung bodily into and out of driven relation with respect to said wheels, and spring means acting on the brush and pressing it lnto engagement with the floor.

9. The combination of a casing, a pair of supporting wheels on each side of said casing, a rotary brush having its ends arranged to be positioned between and driven by the pairs of wheels at the sides of the casing, individual. arms for the wheels havslotted pivotal connection with the easing to permit the wheels to be individually moved verticaily and laterally with respect to the casing and the rotary brush, spring mechanism acting on each individual wheel for yieldingly maintaining it into engagement with the floor and in driving relation to the brush, an arm pivoted on each side of the casing and supporting the brush whereby the brush may be swung bodily into and out of driven relation with respect to said wheels, spring means acting on the brush and pressing it into engagement with the floor, and a latch arranged to engage the brush supporting arm and prevent the brush from swinging away from the casing when the casing is lifted from the floor.

Signed at Warsaw, Indiana, this 11th day of December, 1915. 4

CHARLES A. BUYER. Witnesses:

;S. W. Genome, JR, 0. C. Lonerntmwfi 

